The CosmoGolem is a gigantic wooden, anthropoid sculpture of Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen. The four meter high giant is a prominent symbol of hope and evolution. A wooden protector that brings relief to children in need. Himself always silent, this giant protector empowers children by helping them find their own voice. Although closed - apart from the hatch - the Cosmogolem gives people a chance to open up. He invites them to communicate and to share their dreams.

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As such, the Cosmogolem draws attention to the importance of children’s hopes and dreams and to the power of their creativity and intuitive thinking. It bridges different cultures, stimulates cross-border communication and creates mutual understanding. By moving around the planet, the CosmoGolem moves people.

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When Koen was 17, he made a large geometric sculpture from wood. He named the sculpture golem - a giant. Later, he discovered that ‘Golem’ is also a symbol for major evolutions. They are all a result of the human desire to create new applications that make our lives more comfortable. But they also have a destructive power. It’s important to be aware of this power but even more to see the strength coming out of the creation of this golem.

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When the project started traveling the world, Vanmechelen renamed the sculpture ‘CosmoGolem.’ Koen Vanmechelen’s CosmoGolem is at the same time a saviour, a rescuer and a supporter of those who most need him. He is a towering beacon that invites action.

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This is why, in 2006, the project was adopted by Belgian Nobel Peace Price nominee, sister Jeanne Devos. This enigmatic woman founded the National Domestic Workers Movement in Bombay, an organisation that fights against child labor, child trafficking, child prostitution, and child soldiers and takes care of abused and ‘forgotten’ children. The CosmoGolem gives these children an identity and a voice. Also Peter Adriaenssens, child psychiatrist and chairman of the Care Centre for Child Abuse in Leuven (BE), ‘embraced’ the statue. ‘When first confronted with the sculpture ‘CosmoGolem’ by Koen Vanmechelen, I realized its link to the subject of traumatized children: deceivingly unmoved on the outside, the giant resembles the child.’ Doctor Adriaenssens is using it in his therapy.

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Starting as a sculpture by a young Koen Vanmechelen, the wooden giant has grown into a global project of childrens rights. It never stops looking for places where it can land and bring hope to people in need. At present over 45 CosmoGolems have found a home in countries like the Belgium, the Netherlands, India, Equador, Peru, Chile, Tanzania, Poland, Zimbabwe and Mexico. The CosmoGolem is always built together with the local community who gives it his own identity.

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Eventually it is the dream of Koen Vanmechelen and everyone who cooperates in the project to see Cosmogolems all over the world and to connect them.

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